Big pay grade for new Illinois community college system director

By Bernard SchoenburgPolitical writer

Sunday

Oct 7, 2018 at 5:24 PM

The Illinois Community College Board last week named Brian Durham as its next executive director, starting in December.

Durham, 47, of Springfield, is now deputy director for academic affairs at the board. He is taking over for Karen Hunter Anderson, 64, of Rochester, who is retiring at the end of November. Durham also is likely to get a significant pay raise, as he now is paid $86,880 annually, and the salary range for the new post was listed as $150,000 to $190,000. His contract is still being negotiated, officials said. Anderson is paid $190,282 annually.

“Dr. Durham has spent the last 16 years at the ICCB where he has been at the forefront of implementing policies to improve outcomes for community college students,” said board Chairman Lazaro Lopez, associate superintendent for teaching and learning at Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214, which oversees schools including those in Arlington Heights, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Rolling Meadows and Elk Grove Village. “The board unanimously selected Dr. Durham for his extensive community college experience and focused dedication to student success.”

A board news release said Durham is a statewide leader in remedial education reform, the implementation of career pathways, expansion of apprenticeship programs, and the design of transfer programs.

“His combination of educational background, innovative spirit, and leadership experience will serve the agency and the community college system well,” Anderson said.

Lopez said he is confident that Durham “will build upon the agency’s work to reduce remediation, connect education to employment, and ensure that Illinois remains a national leader in bachelor’s degree completion rates for community college transfer students.”

Durham has a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Evansville, a master’s in the same field from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and a doctorate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he focused on education policy, organization and leadership with a concentration on higher education. He’s been with the board since 2003. He also was in the U.S. Army Reserves and the Indiana National Guard for a total of six years.

Matt Berry, spokesman for the board, said the salary range offered for the executive director’s job is in line with what campus chief executives are making in the community college system. The board oversees 48 colleges in 39 districts.

John Bambenek of Champaign, a member of the board, said Durham was chosen from three applicants. He said Anderson has done “a great job, especially under the circumstances,” including the budget impasse that occurred in two recent years.

While the coming significant pay raise for Durham “caught my attention,” Bambenek said, there will be “a great deal of increase in responsibility,” and the salary range is “not out of line” compared with other state government leadership positions. He also said that because it’s a public job and the range — while not set in stone — was posted, “your negotiating hand is somewhat diminished.”

Bambenek said the new director will take over just as several newly elected lawmakers will get briefings as they anticipate their January inaugurations. Durham, he said, will be able to explain issues and goals concerning the community college system.

“We wanted to make sure there was continuity of leadership if at all possible,” Bambenek said.